Man behind guns in Haitian president's assassination sentenced to life in prison

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in a U.S. court in March to three charges involving his role in the 2021 assassination of then-Haitian President Jovenel Moise, prosecutors said.

Rodolphe Jaar was one of 11 defendants in the case, which includes businessmen accused of helping obtain vehicles and firearms from Florida and former Colombian soldiers accused of killing Moise in his bedroom, according to court documents.

Moise's murder in July 2021 left a gaping political vacuum in the Caribbean nation and emboldened powerful gangs with residents caught in the middle as large portions of the capital and much of the countryside became lawless.

Jaar signed a plea statement in March, which said he provided personnel and funds to kidnap Moise, but the initial plan later turned into a murder plot. Some of the funds were used to buy weapons and pay bribes for the president's security detail, the statement said.

Jaar was sentenced on Friday by Southern District of Florida Judge Jose Martinez.

Jaar met with the co-conspirators the night before the assassination, according to the plea statement, at which time Haitian-American James Solages stated the aim was to kill Moise.

The court documents added that Jaar also met other defendants, including former Haitian Senator Joseph Joel John, Haitian-American Joseph Vincent, Colombian ex-military officer German Rivera and Antonio Intriago, the Venezuelan owner of a Miami-based private security firm.

Jaar has also been accused of helping a group of Colombians implicated in the case to hide from Haitian authorities, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement following his arrest last year.

Jaar was detained in the neighboring Dominican Republic in early 2022.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)